Warmer weather means ice cream in the park. Van Leeuwen returns to USQ as the seasonal vendor for another great summer near the subway entrance at the west side of the park near 16th St. With rotating ice cream (including vegan) flavors, expect sweet treats in the Square.
Next week (January 28 to February 1), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors inside the building as well as roof work. Additionally we will begin work on the new sidewalks around the building.
The following week (February 4 to February 8), Material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors and roofs as well as sidewalk work.
This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, January 26th for interior, superstructure and sidewalk related activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City.
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PLEASE READ: YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE CITY IN ERROR:
Tens-of-thousands of city residents eligible for a popular condo and co-op tax break have received letters from the city incorrectly stating that they no longer qualify, according to city civic and co-op board leaders.
Late last week, co-op and condo owners began receiving the letter from the city Department of Finance stating that a revamped condo and co-op tax abatement bill passed by the Legislature in January meant they could not collect it. “Our records show that this unit is not your primary residence, so your abatement will be phased out,” the letter states. The new legislation only allows owners to claim the tax break on their primary residence, and no longer allows the break on secondary homes.
The problem was that many people received the letter at their primary residence—which is indeed still eligible for the full break, according to Warren Schreiber, co-president of the Co-Op and Condo Council in northeast Queens. Mr. Schreiber said in his own co-op of about 200 residences, some 45 people had received the letters— about 35 of whom actually count those units as their primary residence. That could make a difference of about $1,000 per unit on upcoming bills if not corrected, he said.
“Some people have been in their homes, 20, 30 or 40 years and are getting these letters,” said Mr. Schreiber. “I think what happened is that the Department of Finance’s records are out of date, but it’s causing a lot of confusion and chaos.”
Nearly two years ago, Finance Commissioner David Frankel acknowledged the department had erred on 15,000 property bills the city mailed that July because of a “computer glitch.”
But in this case, a Department of Finance spokesman said the agency had used available data to determine which of the city’s 360,000 condo and co-ops would qualify for the abatement, and automatically enrolled 230,000 of them. In instances where there was not enough information, the agency sent out 130,000 of the letters to homeowners saying were not eligible for the tax break.
Mary Ann Rothman, the executive director of the Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums, said she too had been contacted by several people who have received the letters—despite simultaneously receiving the state’s STAR tax rebate on the same property, which can only be claimed at one’s primary residence.
Still, she defended the city Department of Finance, arguing that it was simply sending the letters out to the large number of co-op and condo owners in an effort to make sure the city’s records were correct under the revamped program.
“This is making people nervous, but you have to remember that this is a total change in the way that the abatement is administered,” she said.
The letters the city sent to co-op owners directs them to send a form to an address in Maplewood, N.J., verifying that they are in fact receiving the abatement on their primary residence. The form is due on April 1, and city tax bills reflecting whether the abatement will still be granted will go out in June. Those no longer eligible for the abatement would retroactively have to pay 50% of the normal break in July, and would stop getting it altogether in July 2014.
But Mr. Schreiber said he was concerned that elderly property owners, those with disabilities or those who live elsewhere for the winter, would have their tax break incorrectly pulled.
The parameters of the new condo and co-op bill were originally hashed out in June 2012, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo at that time decided not to issue a message of necessity circumventing a three-day waiting period to pass it before the end of the legislative session. As a result, the city Department of Finance decided essentially not to collect hiked condo and co-op taxes under the expectation that the legislature would eventually pass the agreed-upon bill—which it finally did this January.
The revamped program offers greater benefits to middle-class owners, raising their tax abatements from 17.5% to, 26.5% next year and 28% in 2015 for properties whose average assessed value is less than $50,000. Units valued at more than $60,000 would get abatements of 17.5% over the next three years. Other previous aspects of the program—including one that allowed real estate speculators to claim abatement for secondary residences—were eliminated.
New Yorkers go to Union Square for various reasons. Whether it be to peruse the farmer’s market, doing a little shopping, or just to catch their next train, but on Thursday, June 27 you can also get a free HIV test. To mark National HIV Testing Day, the Community Healthcare Network (CHN) will provide all-day free HIV tests and Hepatitis C screenings, as well as meningitis vaccines.
The HIV tests take 20 minutes for the results, so to make the wait more bearable there will be free massages, snacks, life-coaching, and stretching workshops while you wait. The CHN’s mobile van will be in the park from 9am-5pm, so stop by to find out your status, and get your meningitis vaccine before the weekend’s Pride festivities!
